Week in Review

HASC panels weigh in on FY09 budget request

Last week saw various subpanels of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) follow up on the SASC action of the previous week by significantly tweaking the Bush Administration's Fiscal Year 2009 (FY09) budget request in several programme areas.

Among key deviations recommended by the Subcommittees from the President's requested budget:

• The HASC's Personnel Subcommittee voted to increase the Bush Administration-proposed military pay raise from 3.5% to 3.9% and funded end strength increases of 7,000 for the Army and 5,000 for the Marine Corps.

• The HASC's Air and Land Forces Subcommittee voted to cleave $200 million from the Army's $3.6 billion Future Combat Systems (FCS) request and $166 million from the $428 million request for the Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) in favour of a host of other Service priorities, including adding more than $800 million to address equipment shortfalls for the Army National Guard and Reserve.

• The Air and Land Forces Subcommittee recommended the addition of fifteen C-17 airlifters not requested by the Air Force and advance procurement funding for twenty more F-22 fighters in FY10. On the politically-charged KC-X tanker programme, the subcommittee provided the requested $831.8 million for FY09 funding, but nixed an additional $62 million in advance procurement (long lead) funds, citing the fact that the Northrop Grumman EADS (KC-30) aircraft is already in production.

• The Seapower Subcommittee's mark - crafted in large measure by Subcommittee Chairman Gene Taylor (D-Mississippi) essentially rewrote the Navy's FY09 shipbuilding plan, "pausing" funding for a third DDG-1000 destroyer - at least for FY09 - and adding funds for another San Antonio-class amphibious dock and two T-AKE-class cargo ships.

• The Seapower panel also authorises an additional $2.6 billion to field Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles to Afghanistan and Iraq and an additional $247 million for development of the F-136 alternate engine programme for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). The Marine Corps's Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) was clipped by $40 million based on lingering concerns over its design.

• The HASC Strategic Forces Subcommittee whacked $700 million from the Bush Administration's $9.2 billion missile defence budget ask, including $232 million requested for European-based interceptor and radar sites.

• Echoing the SASC's action the week prior, the Strategic Forces Subcommittee's proposed cuts to the MDA budget reflect an investment emphasis on nearer-term missile defence systems and capabilities. Accordingly, AEGIS, THAAD, and a U.S-Israeli short range missile defence programme saw funding increases while the troubled Airborne Laser (ABL), Kinetic Energy Interceptor (KEI), and the Multiple Kill Vehicle (MKV) programmes were targeted for cuts.

Full HASC consideration of the subcommittee marks is slated for Wednesday morning. A host of amendments are anticipated to be considered for inclusion, including a possible amendment by HASC Ranking Member Duncan Hunter (R-California) to limit or remove KC-X tanker funding.

The Senate did not move last week on passing the SASC-passed version of the FY09 defence authorisation bill, but action is anticipated this month.

House and Senate defence appropriators have yet to act on the FY09 request or even to schedule mark-up proceedings.

Pelosi confident of moving FY08 emergency supplemental appropriations bill

Congress made no progress last week in approving an increasingly urgent request for FY08 supplemental war funding. At issue, as in the past, are the degrees to which the bill will contain: (a) policy stipulations regarding the US presence in/withdrawal from Iraq; and (b) domestic spending additions, including funding for veterans' education.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) indicated to reporters last week that agreement is near on the spending measure. "I am very confident that, next week, we will come to the floor with a bill that has the full consensus of the Democrats and hopefully can attract a large number of Republicans, as well."

Speaker Pelosi indicated, further, her hope that the Senate could work its parallel measure in time to reconcile the House and Senate bills and send the measure to President Bush before both bodies adjourn for their Memorial Day breaks on May 23rd.

Programme briefs

• C-17s for NATO - The Defense Security Co-operation Agency (DSCA) last week notified Congress of the potential sale of two C-17s to the NATO Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC).

• DEEPWATER -- Thursday saw the US Coast Guard take delivery of the first of its National Security Cutters - the USCGC BERTOLF (WMSL-750) under the massive DEEPWATER Coast Guard recapitalisation program. The program, led by prime contractor Integrated Coast Guard Systems (ICGS), a Lockheed Martin-Northrop Grumman consortium, has been plagued by technical problems and a doubling of its cost. The Coast Guard will now perform 24 months of operational testing.

• Future Combat Systems - Last week saw the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) and the House Defense Appropriations Committee (HAC-D) reject the Army's 21 March request to reprogramme a quarter of a billion Army dollars to and within the FCS system-of-systems program. The slap is consistent with growing Congressional concern over the FCS programme direction and results.

• GPS III Satellites -- Friday saw Pentagon acquisition tsar John J. Young announce that he had signed an Acquisition Decision Memorandum (ADM) authorising the Air Force to award (to Boeing or Lockheed Martin) an estimated $1.8 billion contract to build the GPS III satellites. In signing the ADM, Under Secretary Young made clear to the Air Force that they are to "execute the programme to the existing capability development document" and not fall prey to the tendency to grow the capability - and increase the difficulty and cost - as the programme proceeds. A source selection announcement could come as early as this week.

CSBA to DoD: Highlight dissuasion

The centre for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) last week released and briefed Congressional officials on a new, 54-page report that articulates and advocates the tenets of "dissuasion."

Coauthored by Andrew F. Krepinevich and Robert C. Martinage, "Dissuasion Strategy" analyses the concept and strategy of dissuasion, highlights its differences with deterrence, offers insight on how it can be operationalised, and identifies solutions for overcoming possible impediments.

According to the Report, dissuasion involves actions taken to increase a rival's perception of the anticipated costs or decrease its perception of the likely benefits from developing, expanding, or transferring a military capability that would be threatening or undesirable from the US perspective. "Given the intensity of the threats we face today-WMD, irregular warfare, and terrorism, asymmetric competition, anti-access and area-denial capabilities-developing and prosecuting dissuasion strategies should become a core element in US strategic planning," notes Dr. Krepinevich.

The authors recommend that a Senior Dissuasion Strategy Group (SDSG) be created within the Defense Department to implement dissuasion strategy. "Ultimately, the development and application of dissuasion strategies should be the province of the secretary of defence, a small number of senior defence decision-makers, and a small analytic staff," according to Krepinevich.

OIF/OEF Human Toll

The Department of Defense (DoD) reports that, as of 9 May 2008, a total of 4,067 American servicemen (more than two a day) have died in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) since fighting began on 19 March 2003. Eighteen were reported killed last week. Overall, 3,315 of the American casualties have been killed in action. 752 deaths have resulted from non-hostile activities.

CNN reports that, in addition to the American deaths, two Australians, 176 Brits, 13 Bulgarians, one Czech, seven Danes, two Dutch, two Estonians, one Fijan, one Hungarian, 33 Italians, one Kazakh, one Korean, three Latvians, 22 Poles, three Romanians, five Salvadorans, four Slovaks, 11 Spaniards, two Thai and 18 Ukrainians have also given their lives in support of OIF operations as of 9 May.

Iraqbodycount.net estimates that there have been between 83,521 and 91,094 Iraqi civilian deaths - roughly 45 per day -- since the commencement of OIF.

29,911 American troops have been wounded in OIF action as of 9 May. 16,567 of these returned to action within 72 hours, and 13,344 (more than seven a day since fighting began) were more seriously injured.

DoD reports that 490 US military personnel have been killed in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) in Afghanistan as of 2 May. 295 of these deaths were the result of hostile activities. 195 were non-hostile/accidental. 426 of these 490 were killed "in and around Afghanistan" and 64 perished in other locations. No deaths were reported in the past week.

CNN reports that, in addition to the US deaths, five Australians (one last week), 94 Brits, 82 Canadians, two Czechs, 14 Danes, 16 Dutch, two Estonians, one Finn, 12 French, 22 Germans, eleven Italians, three Norwegians, three Poles, two Portuguese, six Romanians, one South Korean, 23 Spaniards, and two Swedes have also given their lives in support of OEF operations as 9 May.

1,937 US troops have been reported as wounded in OEF action as of 2 May. 756 of the wounded returned to action within 72 hours, and 1,181 were more seriously injured.

Verbatim

Congressman Gene Taylor (D-Mississippi), Chairman of the House Seapower & Expeditionary Forces Subcommittee, 9 May 2008, in dramatically retooling the Navy's Fiscal Year 2009 (FY09) shipbuilding request:

"This subcommittee has tried to work closely with the Navy leadership over the years to develop a workable strategy to restore the size of our fleet. Unfortunately, the Department of Defense has not budgeted the required funds for Navy shipbuilding and continues to submit budget requests which reduce, not grow, the size of the fleet. The solution offered, every year, is that the solution will be delayed to future years.

I do not believe the plan to achieve a 313 ship fleet is achievable in its current form. I am convinced that the only path to a 313 ship fleet is to build ships of a proven design and build them in sufficient numbers to realize shipyard efficiency. Today's [FY09 Defense Authorisation Bill] mark is the first step toward that goal. The mark redirects Navy efforts for fiscal year 2009 and lays the framework for continued shipbuilding efforts in following years."

Douglas Harpel can be contacted here.

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